03 世界微笑日 World Smiley Day

Bet you didn’t know there’s a World Smiley Day!! Well, now you know. There is a special day of the year at the beginning of October for us all to celebrate the little yellow smiley face we all know and love. It is just a circle with two dots in the middle, to represent eyes, and a half circle for the mouth. The smiley is everywhere today. How many times do you use a smiley in your text messages? How often do you quickly scribble a smiley on a memo or draw one with your finger on a bathroom mirror? Even tiny children can and do do this. The happy little face is now one of the most recognizable images on the planet. And what a great image it is. If we could all follow this simple little symbol, what a wonderful world this would be.

Bet you also didn’t know that the smiley was the design of an American artist. His name is Harvey Ballwell, but he died in 2001. He created the smiley face in 1963. In 1971, two businessmen used it in a campaign to sell novelty goods. They produced badges, coffee mugs, t-shirts and bumper stickers and suddenly smiley was worldwide. The Smiley name and logo is registered in over 100 countries to produce many different goods and services. Harvey Ballwell wanted to use his creation for a good cause. He decided that the first Friday in October each year would be World Smiley Day. The theme for this day is: "Do an act of kindness; help one person smile." It’s a shame this day isn’t every day of the year.